tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post5996093715116498727..comments2024-03-27T08:40:31.785-06:00Comments on Clayton Cramer.: USA Today Actually Checking Their Sources: Excellent!Clayton Cramerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03258083387204776812noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-89690304105591253182013-12-08T15:05:02.822-07:002013-12-08T15:05:02.822-07:00Re the FBI Cleveland item: one thing that clueful ...Re the FBI Cleveland item: one thing that <i>clueful</i> commenters on cross-national stats point out is the different concepts of what is a homicide. In Britain, which should be one of our closest polities in both ancestry and cultural aspects, they don't count homicides until the cases are resolved.<br /><br />This one about the long-ago Cleveland murders is just a reminder that our system, though much better in conceptual terms, can still end up making mistakes like this one. But at least it's not "working as designed".<br />Kirk Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05921711310191924997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-907159777930431302013-12-06T05:14:37.731-07:002013-12-06T05:14:37.731-07:00Thanks for the extra info, guys. I see your point ...Thanks for the extra info, guys. I see your point now. asdfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10270615751004712276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-15205783151967852062013-12-05T12:05:06.268-07:002013-12-05T12:05:06.268-07:00First, off, I would point out to asdf that we need...First, off, I would point out to asdf that we need the years to be right as much as anything else: one of the things we are trying to do is figure out the rate that these things happen.<br /><br />Second, I would point out that intent matters as well. If someone shows up at a school and shoots people, and only three die, but a dozen are shot, I would consider that a mass murder; similarly, if someone shows up at a school with six guns, lots of ammo, and starts shooting, but gets shot, and no one dies...that should count as a mass murder too (or at least, as an attempted mass murder). Counting only situations where four or more people die skews the results against situations where people successfully defend themselves against a potential mass murderer.<br /><br />Somewhat off topic, it drives me nuts when people point to Australia, and say "They banned guns, and they haven't had a mass shooting since then!" I've checked up on mass murders in Australia, and it so happens that they get, on average, about one incident every fourteen years. They've *had* one incident since they've banned guns, but it didn't involve shooting. This isn't to say that they can't have three mass murders in the next month...but what it *does* show, is that mass murder is so rare in Australia, that you can't attribute the absence of it to their gun laws.<br /><br />And this blog post makes me wonder how accurate this "mass murder incidence report" (in this case, Wikipedia) is all that accurate, one way or the other...Epsilon Givenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16772806403046781521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-60542133984247828762013-12-05T11:23:00.981-07:002013-12-05T11:23:00.981-07:00asdf, I think that listing the quintuple murder wa...asdf, I think that listing the quintuple murder was not right. Apparently the bodies were never located and the case hinged on an inmate's testimony. The person charged was found Not Guilty. <br /><br />Thus, when it comes down to it there is the possibility that there may have never been any murders in the first place. Or if there were murders, they were not in that location. <br /><br />A link to one of the articles: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/nyregion/jury-acquits-man-in-1978-murder-of-5-newark-boys.html <br /><br />Gladornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13036666575371011307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-42421499736488916012013-12-05T09:26:08.637-07:002013-12-05T09:26:08.637-07:00It seems the quintuple murder was in fact right, t...It seems the quintuple murder was in fact right, then. It was just the date that was wrong.asdfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10270615751004712276noreply@blogger.com